Synthetic mouse embryo develops beating heart

Synthetic mouse embryo develops beating heart Scientists in Cambridge have created synthetic mouse embryos in a lab, without using eggs or sperm, which show evidence of a brain and beating heart.

The mouse embryos, developed using stem cells, only lasted for eight days.

But the research team say it could improve understanding of the earliest stages of organ development - and why some pregnancies fail. BBC News

See also:

• Synthetic embryos complete gastrulation to neurulation and organogenesis (open access) Nature

Nationwide strike ballot of NHS nursing staff confirmed

Nationwide strike ballot of NHS nursing staff confirmed Nursing staff will be asked to consider industrial action after a decade of real-terms pay cuts.

A nationwide ballot of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members is now set to take place next month. Nursing Notes

Parts of England have one NHS dentist for thousands of people, data shows

Parts of England have one NHS dentist for thousands of people, data shows Dental patients are still suffering from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, as parts of England are left with only one NHS dentist for thousands of people.

In North Lincolnshire, there were just 54 NHS dentists – equivalent to one for every 3,199 people – at the end of March, NHS Digital figures show. This means every NHS dentist in the area would have to work nine-hour days every working day of the year without holidays for each resident to receive one annual checkup on the NHS. The Guardian

‘People are freaking out, seeing young men with lesions all over their faces’: the anxious wait for monkeypox vaccines

‘People are freaking out, seeing young men with lesions all over their faces’: the anxious wait for monkeypox vaccines With supplies running low, many gay and bisexual men are struggling to get appointments at sexual health centres – and for some, the handling of the outbreak has alarming echoes of the HIV/Aids epidemic. The Guardian

Woman confronts Steve Barclay on NHS outside hospital

Woman confronts Steve Barclay on NHS outside hospital The health secretary has been confronted outside a hospital by a woman who angrily criticised the government for doing “bugger all” to fix record-high ambulance wait times.

During an interview with broadcasters in central London on Thursday afternoon, Steve Barclay was told the Conservatives had had “long enough” to fix the NHS by a visibly angry member of the public. The Guardian

See also:

• Stephen Barclay challenged on ambulance delays BBC News

Staffing emergency as 999 workforce shrinks while demand increases, data shows

Staffing emergency as 999 workforce shrinks while demand increases, data shows  The number of ambulance staff is falling despite a rise in demand, according to a Daily Mail analysis.

The workforce in England had been increasing since April 2019 but has dropped for three months in a row, analysis of NHS figures reveals.

From October last year to March this year, the number stayed above 18,000, while it now stands at 17,847, the lowest since September last year.

See also:

• Ambulance chiefs blasted by Health Secretary over 'unacceptable' ambulance handover delays The Daily Mail
• NHS 'misled' public over growing crisis of A&E waiting times The Daily Telegraph

Northampton and Kettering general hospitals shortlisted for national award for technology use

Northampton and Kettering general hospitals shortlisted for national award for technology use Northampton and Kettering general hospitals have been shortlisted for a national award for their use of technology to better support frail patients.

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group (UHN) is a finalist in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Patient Safety Awards 2022 in the Digital System and Process Development Award category. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Union tables claim to increase pay rise offered by Northampton mental health hospital

Union tables claim to increase pay rise offered by Northampton mental health hospital A union representing workers at St Andrew’s Healthcare in Northampton has tabled a claim to improve the pay increase offer.

UNISON has formally proposed that St Andrew's employees receive either a £2,000 rise at all career levels or the current rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) - presently 11.8 percent - whichever is higher. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

More than 1,400 people in Northamptonshire given specialist Covid medication

More than 1,400 people in Northamptonshire given specialist Covid medication More than 1,400 county residents at risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19 have been treated with antiviral and other specialist medications by Northamptonshire’s hospitals after testing positive for the virus.

Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals have both been providing the treatments – either as tablets or intravenous infusions – as part of the national network of Covid Medicines Delivery Units (CMDUs) set up in December 2021. Northants Live

The continuing impact of Covid-19 on health and inequalities

The continuing impact of Covid-19 on health and inequalities A year on from publication of the Health Foundation’s impact inquiry, inequalities in COVID-19 mortality persist with mortality rates 3 to 4 times higher in the most deprived areas. However, the overall number of COVID-19 deaths is now significantly lower than it was during the first year of the pandemic. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Chart of the week: How has the pandemic affected inequalities in tooth extractions for children? Nuffield Trust

Next steps for continuity of care: practical learning in light of the Fuller report

 Next steps for continuity of care: practical learning in light of the Fuller report General practice is facing significant and multiple challenges, driven by a perfect storm of COVID-19, GP shortages and workload pressures. The impact on patients is obvious – and this is reflected in dramatically falling satisfaction levels.

The recent Fuller report offered a clear vision of the future primary care system, including the fundamental ingredients that need to stay, where change needs to happen and what can enable that change. The Health Foundation

There’s no such thing as a new public policy idea, just a new name

There’s no such thing as a new public policy idea, just a new name Those of us who have been at the policy and implementation game for a while can be forgiven for thinking that there are few genuinely new ideas in public policy. Instead, the policy pendulum swings between solutions that are implemented, discarded for something better (or more accurately, something that is just different), and then reintroduced with a different name sometime later. The King's Fund

How are we doing? A coproduced approach to tracking young Black men’s experiences of community wellbeing and mental health programmes

How are we doing? A coproduced approach to tracking young Black men’s experiences of community wellbeing and mental health programmes There are few culturally relevant tools focusing on young Black men’s mental health outcomes. Using approaches that lack cultural sensitivity limit services’ ability to know whether they are working well, and can lead to mistrust and disengagement. Funded by Mind, this report from the Centre for Mental Health looks at how they designed a new, culturally informed approach to monitoring young Black men’s outcomes for accessing wellbeing support — Culturally appropriate evaluation for young Black men. It was coproduced with young Black men to identify what impact a service has on their mental health and wellbeing. Community wellbeing and mental health programmes are being asked to pilot the tool, to help determine its effectiveness.

Regular asymptomatic testing paused in additional settings

Regular asymptomatic testing paused in additional settings Regular asymptomatic testing for Covid in all remaining settings in England will be paused from 31 August, as Covid cases continue to fall.

Free testing for the public ended on 1 April as part of the government’s Living with Covid plan, but asymptomatic testing continued to be used in some settings during periods of high case rates. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Guidance: Infection prevention and control in adult social care: COVID-19 supplement Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance: COVID-19: testing during periods of low prevalence UK Health Security Agency
• Guidance: Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for adult social care services UK Health Security Agency
• Guidance: Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for hospices UK Health Security Agency
• Guidance: COVID-19: managing healthcare staff with symptoms of a respiratory infection  UK Health Security Agency
• Variation in reported SARS-CoV-2 cases after testing policy changes The Lancet Infectious Diseases
• NHS and care homes in England to pause routine Covid testing BBC News
• Routine COVID-19 testing in GP practices to stop from next week Gponline
• Routine Covid tests in English hospitals to be scrapped next week The Guardian
• COVID-19: Routine asymptomatic testing among NHS and care home workers to be 'paused' from end of this month Sky News

Tory leadership: Rishi Sunak criticises government Covid response

Tory leadership: Rishi Sunak criticises government Covid response Rishi Sunak has criticised the government's response to Covid - suggesting independent scientific advisers were given too much authority.

Mr Sunak - chancellor in the pandemic - told the Spectator magazine there had not been enough discussion about the negative side-effects of lockdowns.

He said he had felt "emotional" when he argued to keep schools in England open. BBC News

See also:

• Why HAVE they scrapped the pioneering early warning system that can protect against a Covid surge? The Daily Mail
• A THIRD of over-50s still haven't had last year's Covid booster jab in parts of England The Daily Mail
• Pfizer makes bid to have BA.5-specific COVID-19 jab approved by the FDA The Daily Mail
• Sunak says it was a mistake to ‘empower scientists’ during Covid pandemic The Guardian
• Government wrong to ‘empower scientists’ on Covid lockdowns, says Rishi Sunak The Independent
• Accountability for COVID-19 policies was blurred during televised briefings, study shows Nottingham Trent University
• Sunak claims he was gagged over negative effects of COVID lockdowns and scientists had too much influence over decision making Sky News

Liz Truss plan to divert NHS funds to social care is ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’

Liz Truss plan to divert NHS funds to social care is ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ Liz Truss would be “robbing Peter to pay Paul” if she diverted £13bn of funding for the NHS to deal with a Covid backlog in social care, experts have said.

The Conservative leadership frontrunner told a hustings on Tuesday night that she would spend the £13bn earmarked for the NHS to catch up on delayed treatment after Covid on social care instead. The Guardian

See also:

• Liz Truss' plan to rescue social care sector if she wins Tory leadership race receives lukewarm response from campaigners The Daily Mail
• Liz Truss plan to divert NHS billions to social care like ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ The Independent
• Truss pledges to allocate £13bn to social care Local Government Chronicle

NHS 111 cyber attack still affecting GPs three weeks after start of outage

NHS 111 cyber attack still affecting GPs three weeks after start of outage GP practices are still being affected by the recent cyber incident affecting NHS 111, despite assurances a solution was ‘days’ away two weeks ago.

One GP practice was told their CPR training was being cancelled due to 111 ‘capacity issues’ with the IT outage, which affects the Adastra system used by 111 services and hosted by Advanced.

And NHS England has said that software being taken offline is impacting 111 referrals to GP practices and through GP access hubs. Pulse

See also:

• NHS 111 cyber-attack fiasco will harm patients, safety experts warn The Daily Mail
• Advanced issues status updates on products affected by cyber-attack Digital Health 
• Special Report: Data Security Digital Health

Doom-scrollers are more likely to suffer from stress and anxiety, study finds

Doom-scrollers are more likely to suffer from stress and anxiety, study finds One in six people are 'doom scrollers', a study suggests.

The term gained popularity in 2020 during the Covid pandemic and 2020 US presidential election and refers to people who obsessively follow negative news.

Researchers analysed data from an online survey of 1,100 adults who were asked about their news consumption habits and stress and anxiety levels. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Caught in a Dangerous World: Problematic News Consumption and Its Relationship to Mental and Physical Ill-Being (open access) Health Communication

Analysis suggests 500 Brits are dying every WEEK due to ambulance delays and A&E waits

Analysis suggests 500 Brits are dying every WEEK due to ambulance delays and A&E waits As many as 500 people are dying every week in England because of the crisis in NHS emergency departments, according to analysis.

A&E performance has plummeted to its worst ever level over recent months with patients waiting up to 40 hours for a bed, while the sick are facing near-record waits for ambulances.

So far in 2022, there have been over 11,000 'excess deaths' — the number of fatalities above the five-year average, which is a marker of how many are expected. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Expert warns 'tens of thousands of lives will be lost' due to cancer delays that are 'getting worse' The Daily Mail
• NHS forced to publish hidden trolley wait data by UK regulator The Independent
• NHS chiefs give hospitals deadline to stop ambulance delays The Independent

Scientists may have found way to clear the brain of toxic chemicals responsible for Alzheimer's

Scientists may have found way to clear the brain of toxic chemicals responsible for Alzheimer's A research team may have found a new way to clear harmful proteins in the brain that trigger cognitive diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, opening the door for new treatments for the devastating conditions. 

Experts believe that Alzheimer's is triggered by amyloid beta proteins building up in the brain and clumping together, triggering tell-tale symptoms such as memory loss and loss of general cognitive function. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Aqp4 stop codon readthrough facilitates amyloid-β clearance from the brain (abstract) Brain